


chasing rainbows

by yoonmin



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M, i tried i really did, jnhficexchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 18:27:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7518674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoonmin/pseuds/yoonmin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jackson Wang arrives in a sea of green and blue—inexperienced but confident, the dips and slopes of the Korean language clearly unfamiliar to his tongue as he introduces himself and bows in front of the class.</p>
            </blockquote>





	chasing rainbows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunflcwers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflcwers/gifts).



> so the prompt was 'childhood friends' but i think i turned this into more of a soulmate au holy fuck  
> also smut was asked for and i really _can't_ write smut Oh My God so it was just inplied i'm.......so sorry i should've said that i can't write smut for shit kjghfd  
>  and _one more thing_ oh my god if the part abt mark kind of offends?? anyone a lil bc he has snake friends in this fic too then i am _so_ sorry, it really wasn't intentional......i wrote this before shit went down i'm kdhkfd but it was a bit of an integral part of the fic n i couldn't erase it so ;;;;  
>  i hope this is okay though?? also, kudos to 7cm for gicing me jinson references, u r my saviour  
> enjoy!

Jackson Wang burst into Park Jinyoung’s life in a plethora of colours—in shades of red and blue and green that Jinyoung’s never seen before in his rose-coloured life. In a world where soulmates exist and other colours apart from the one you’re born with only start existing upon encountering your own, Jinyoung’s a special case. The nicknamed ‘Soulmate Effect’ only comes into play once you’re eighteen, but according to the doctors—saying something along the lines of ‘his occipital lobe making early neural connections’—the Soulmate Effect comes into play when he’s around three and three years later, he meets Jackson Wang.

Jackson Wang arrives in a sea of green and blue—inexperienced but confident, the dips and slopes of the Korean language clearly unfamiliar to his tongue as he introduces himself and bows in front of the class. His tone rises after the last syllable of the sentence and Jinyoung’s classmates snicker, including Jaebum who covers his mouth. Even six-year-old Jinyoung, who looks at the world through rose-coloured glass, didn’t think that was very nice. Jackson _is_ from Hong Kong, after all.

But then their eyes meet and Jinyoung’s glasses are taken off, letting him see the green and the blue and the black of Jackson’s hair and the deep, dark brown of his eyes. But the other seems unfazed, only sending him a sheepish smile.

 

*

 

Despite having laughed at him earlier, Jaebum declares he wants to make friends with the ‘new guy’ and thus drags Jinyoung to Jackson’s assigned seat.

“Hi, I’m Jaebum!” Jaebum chirps, holding out a hand for Jackson to shake, which he gladly does. Jaebum has this weird thing of shaking people’s hands in greeting, his reason something along the lines of ‘wanting to be like dad, who’s a great businessman.’

“And this is my friend Jinyoung!” He continues and Jinyoung looks up, tries to avoid the deep, dark brown of Jackson’s eyes and bows politely in greeting.

He avoids Jackson’s eyes but sees the falter of his grin, hiding more of the white of his teeth.

“It’s nice to meet you two! Can I...eat lunch with you guys…?” Jackson asks slowly, his ㄹ either a hard l or a distinct r sound, never in between—just like the brash colour of his clothes, bright blue and green invading his eyes and making a feeling of unfamiliarity sink into his stomach. He wasn’t prepared for this, no one knew of his special condition. He agreed with his mother to never speak of it to anyone and to not freak out, should he meet his soulmate before he turns eighteen—he agreed to be _normal_.

Jaebum says yes with an ‘of course!’ tacked at the end, Jinyoung gives a meek nod.

Jinyoung sees a rainbow when he looks into Jackson’s eyes, but Jackson only sees grey when he looks into Jinyoung’s.

 

*

 

And then there were two when they’re twelve. Jaebum leaves for America with his family, success running in his blood and shining brightly in his future as he packs his bags and gives Jinyoung and Jackson one last, tight hug, leaving with his head held high and with his heart on his sleeve. Leaving with Jinyoung’s heart, too.

The story is this—first, he sees the matte black of Jackson’s hair, the deep, dark and _scary_ brown of his eyes. But then he sees the glowing black of Jaebum’s hair and the deep, dark and _warm_ brown of his eyes and falls in love for the first time, right on the cusp of ten years old.

He tells no one, not especially his parents, who oppose and sneer when they see two boys or two girls showing public displays of affection. He thinks it’s unfair, of course—but when he looks at Jaebum’s eyes and then at Jackson’s he asks to himself ‘what _is_ fair?’

So he lets Jaebum take his heart and let it fly to America with him. He’s fifteen when he gets it back.

 

*

 

He’s fifteen when he gets it back only for it to taken away again. Another ‘just friends’ scenario with Mark Tuan who glows browns and reds—the feeling of home and the comfort of the earth under your feet but the feeling of intensity with the type of love that makes you feel hot under your collar.

He doesn’t even get a first kiss from him. Mark who’s a year older than him with more experience under his belt. Mark who kisses him but tells him it was a mistake right in front of his own friends who are shades of dangerous red and evil black, the type of people he shouldn’t be hanging out with. Mark who pushes him away and starts to ignore him after the incident, only watching with guilty eyes when his friends sneer at him and push at his shoulders, slurs rolling off their lips and making Jinyoung’s stomach churn uneasily.

Mark who flies back to America a year later, leaving Jinyoung’s heart on the ground and a lump in his throat.

 

*

 

But Jackson, _oh,_ Jackson.

Jackson who slung his arm over Jinyoung’s shoulder in a half-hug as they watch Jaebum’s family’s car drive into the distance, pulling him into a full hug when he starts crying and knowing all along. Jackson who always dragged him around to meet new people despite his shy and demure exterior. Jackson who’s a tornado of different colours but prominently yellow and orange—warm colours but colours that are too bright, too bright for Jinyoung’s sensitive eyes. Jinyoung who likes softer, darker colours which bring more danger and uncertainty. But Jackson who looked at him and smiled when he was six, Jackson who showed him colour and shades of green and blue, but also of brown and red and black and colours that remind him of heartbreak and sorrow. Jackson who’s been there from the start but has really ever only been a childhood friend. Nothing less...and nothing more.

Jackson who gave Jinyoung his heart on a silver platter but Jinyoung who didn’t give his heart back and let it get trampled on by other people but always crying when it happens.

 

*

 

(“Jinyoung-ah,” Jackson asks one day, feeling safe as he looks at the otherwise dull grey of Jinyoung’s eyes, “What colour do you have?”

Jinyoung hesitates and his cheeks turn into a slightly darker grey, indicating to Jackson that he’s blushing.

“R...rose,” Jinyoung mumbles, then says more confidently, “Rose...it’s a pretty colour.”

Jackson smiles as he’s reminded of an idiom. _Seeing the world through rose-coloured glass._

It fits him in the most endearing, saddening way.)

 

*

 

Jackson turns eighteen but Jinyoung’s nowhere to be seen.

It’s understandable—Jinyoung’s on holidays back in his hometown, but he can’t keep his nerves settled when he waits for Jinyoung to arrive at the train station in Seoul, bouncing on the balls of his feet and hands shaking slightly. He’s eighteen and a few weeks and what if Jinyoung’s his soulmate? He’s looked at everyone he knows in the eyes yet his vision is still a multitude of grey shades, a silent movie without the silence—only the loud beating of Jackson’s heart that reaches to his ears which only grows louder when Jinyoung steps out of the train in his monochromatic beauty, and when they meet eyes—

Park Jinyoung arrives in a breeze of pink and light purple—romantic but nostalgic and mysterious, the corners of his eyes crinkling up when he smiles tugging at Jackson’s heartstrings as he runs to the other, enveloping him in a tight hug. Jinyoung laughs a soft, bright yellow, reminding Jackson of warm sunshine and tinkling bells.

“ _God,_ ” Jackson exhales, breathless, “I missed you.”

Jinyoung's still grinning when he pulls away from the hug, “I missed you too, but oh my God, you should've been there with me. Jinhae-gu is so much more beautiful than when I last saw it! And it's spring, too, so the cherry blossoms were all blooming and a pretty pink but the people are as nice as they’ve always been, even though most of my neighbours aren’t there anymore—”

“Wait, how did you know that cherry blossoms are pink?”

Time stops.

“...Jinyoung-ah, it's not your birthday yet.”

Jinyoung’s hands start shaking as he looks at Jackson and he suddenly feels a dull yellow—cautious and dishonest, with his eyes wide like a deer in the headlights.

Jackson feels a dull yellow too—betrayal and feeling deceived as he opens his mouth to speak, “When did you…?”

“I’m a—a special case,” Jinyoung coughs, slipping his hands in his pockets to prevent them from trembling so much, “I could have the Effect from when I was three.”

“...Oh,” is all Jackson says, with his eyes furrowed as he looks at the pavement—the grey pavement and he’s almost convinced that he’s back to his pre-Effect self, “So, ever since we met…?”

Jinyoung doesn’t reply—but Jinyoung’s always been quiet, Jackson tries to convince himself. He’s always been shy but they’ve known each other since they were six and it’s been twelve years. Jinyoung’s surely grown more comfortable around him so the silence to Jackson is tense, the silence is louder than any silence he’s encountered but then Jinyoung grabs his hand and leads him out of the station.

“I just realised—we’re gonna miss the bus if we’re late!” Jinyoung laughs but it’s uneasy and uncomfortable and so out of place that Jackson has to stop and tug Jinyoung back to face him and there it is again—the deer in the headlights look.

“Then why Mark?” He asks, his grip on Jinyoung’s wrist tightening, “Why Jaebum? Why not _me_?”

Jinyoung’s silent again but sighs a few moments later and it’s shaky, his breath trembling as much as his hands are and he looks down, licks his lips before mumbling, “I was scared. I still am.”

Jackson’s world crumbles just a little and his eyebrows crease deeply but he doesn’t give up, only takes a step closer, “Jinyoung. Look at me.”

Jinyoung looks at him and it’s the first time Jackson’s leaned this close, and it’s the first time that Jinyoung’s _really_ looked into his eyes to see speckles of green and blue, inexperienced but confident, and orange and grey, warmth and safety but most of all—the deep, dark brown of his eyes doesn’t scare him anymore but instead his eyes welcome him, giving him a sense of honesty and genuinity and Jinyoung finally sees the silver platter that’s been in front of him all along. He sees it in the other’s eyes and he doesn’t lean back because right before they kiss, Jackson says, “You never had to be scared in the first place.”

And Jinyoung believes him.

They kiss, and they’re a plethora of colours—shades of red and blue and green that they’ve never seen before but they both know they’ll keep seeing them for as long as they’re together.

 

*

 

“Is it weird?” Jackson asks months later, threading his fingers through Jinyoung’s hair as he tangles their legs together, both of them laying down on his bed.

“What is?” Jinyoung mumbles sleepily, dreamily as he nuzzles at the fabric of Jackson’s shirt, the other letting out a soft chuckle.

“Y’know, we’ve been like, best friends since I was awkward with my Korean and now look at us—well, we’re still like best friends except we kiss and hold hands romantically and sometimes fuck—”

“Jackson!” Jinyoung squeaks, cheeks turning a scarlet red as he gently slaps Jackson’s chest when the other laughs with a cheeky undertone, “B-but, no—it’s not awkward at all. It feels really...comfortable. It feels complete.”

“Oh, thank God,” Jackson breathes out, “I was getting scared for like, two seconds.”

At this, the starts of a bright smile tug up the corners of Jinyoung’s lips and soon he wriggles up until he and his boyfriend are face-to-face before he mumbles, “You never had to be scared in the first place.”

Jackson smiles at the familiarity of the words and cups Jinyoung’s cheeks, pulling him in for a searing kiss and soon enough Jinyoung’s being pinned down on the bed, laughter bubbling from both their lips and—

They glow red, passion in their kisses and heat in their touches, love tumbling from their lips as stimulation surges through their bodies.

The rose-coloured glass is taken away and they become a plethora of colours, complementing each other even in their lightest or darkest shades.

**Author's Note:**

> you can tell how hard i tried


End file.
